Renewable rather than fossil resources

This study aimed to determine sources of renewable materials and indicate opportunities for making functional and valuable substances from biomaterials. The project did not focus on using renewable resources to generate power: instead, it aimed to identify promising technical processes for production and conversion and thus take into account issues of economic efficiency, security of supply and durability. It also aimed to evaluate Switzerlandís development prospects: what are our strengths and weaknesses? What funding opportunities are there for research and development? The desire was to build on these considerations to demonstrate implications for Swiss R&D policy.

In this study, we were interested in the extent to which biomaterials are currently used in companies, whether bio-based materials play a role in corporate objectives and strategies, and how corresponding innovation horizons are being pursued. We also investigated which Swiss universities were undertaking research and development work which could help us to achieve this goal.

The brochure summarises the findings and concludes with recommendations for Swiss research policy.